Ablynx triggers milestone in Proctor &amp; Gamble deal

Ablynx of Ghent, Belgium, says its collaboration agreement with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals Inc has reached a second milestone, with Ablynx discovering novel nanobodies against a second target for possible new treatments of musculoskeletal diseases.

Nanobodies are scaled-down antibodies. The first milestone in the collaboration was achieved in December 2006 and was also a target for musculoskeletal diseases.

Hennie Hoogenboom, Chief Scientific Officer at Ablynx, said, “This is yet another important validation of the speed at which our nanobody technology platform can deliver.”

As part of the continuing collaboration Ablynx is responsible for discovering nanobodies that meet an agreed product profile. Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals is responsible for the pre-clinical and clinical development and commercialisation.

In addition to the collaboration with Procter & Gamble, Ablynx has research collaborations and significant, multi-target partnerships with several other pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and Wyeth. The company was spun out of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Technology (VIB) and the Free University of Brussels in 2002.